IN the fifth chapter of Luke's Gospel is a statement of wonderful import to humanity. Through the healing of the man from leprosy Jesus' fame had spread abroad so that "great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities"—so much so that he "withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed." After a time of spiritual refreshment he again taught the people; and the record says that "there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Juæda, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them."
Why was it that "the power of the Lord" was present to heal? Was it not because of Jesus' clear perception that God's creation is perfect in every respect, and not contaminated with sin, disease, and death? This purity of thought enabled Jesus to be the channel through which the Word of God, with its healing power, was able to operate.
These men who had come to listen to Jesus' teachings from every city round about, were "Pharisees and doctors of the law," that is, those who should have known the divine law. Yet so little did they really understand of God and His law that they could bring very little comfort to the sick and sinning in their midst. "The power of the Lord," however, was present for them to avail themselves of and to use just as Jesus did, if they had only known how to do so. The joyful thing to-day is that we know that this divine power is present now to heal as in Jesus' day; and the way in which we can avail ourselves of it is clearly set forth in the Christian Science textbook. "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy.
